Muddled Realities
by Banshee0
Summary: [Complete] Strange things keep happening to Duo and then there is this mission that takes a really mysterious course... What's going on? Read to find out! [shounen ai hints]
1. Chapter 01

Heya!  
  
I'm back again with yet another story that has no other purpose than to keep me entertained. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Same as always. Everybody knows that I don't own the stuff beside the idea so why keep people forcing me to mention it?  
  
For a change this one has no dedication but a proof-reader! (Which is in my opinion pretty much the same since it's Lora we're talking about here...^_^) Thus it's not my fault anymore if there are any errors - blame it all to Lora!!! *cackles* Sorry, L-chan, no offence! ^_~ Again, thanks a lot for beta-ing!  
  
Let's get started now, ne?  
  
- Banshee  
  
- - - - -  
  
Muddled Realities - Chapter 01  
  
- - - - -  
  
Duo got out of the shower and reached for a towel. His twin in the mirror copied his every move and suddenly something about his reflection caught Duo's attention. He turned to face the mirror fully and saw instantly what was off.  
  
Slowly he raised a hand to his forehead and touched it with slightly trembling fingers. Then he brought his hand back down to look closely at his fingers.  
  
They were bloodstained.  
  
Blood from the cross-shaped mark on his forehead that had appeared out of nowhere.  
  
Duo's gaze returned to the mirror and with a startled gasp he realized that the mark was gone again.  
  
But not the blood on his fingers.  
  
- - - - -  
  
The rest of the day Duo tried to stay out of his comrade's ways.  
  
Whatever had happened in the bathroom earlier that day: He didn't trust it to not happen again and he certainly didn't feel like anyone seeing odd bleeding crosses appear on him out of Hell knows where.  
  
Thus he spend the rest of the day either in his room or somewhere outside their safe house at places he was sure nobody would follow him to.  
  
The whole situation got to Duo somewhat. Even if this one incident was the first one he was aware of and there was no evidence that it wouldn't happen again, but it left Duo thinking about it quite hard.  
  
There was always the possibility that he had suffered from a momentary case of hallucinations or insanity or whatever someone who knew what the stuff was about would call it.  
  
It was just that Duo wasn't sure if he liked the possibility that his mind was playing tricks on him any better than everything being reality.  
  
That night Duo tossed and turned in his sleep, not getting any rest and as the first glimpse of dawn could be seen outside, Duo was already up again.  
  
Awake, but not at all rested, he stayed in his room until it was safe to go downstairs where he could now hear the others. After all he was known to always sleep as long as possible and being the first one up would, without a doubt raise some suspicion.  
  
- - - - -  
  
The days passed and it got the more and more difficult for Duo to hide the fact that something was wrong with him from his comrades.  
  
It had started with the bleeding cross on his forehead. That had been four days ago. The mark appeared every now and then and always while Duo was alone. Though the cross always bled it never hurt in any way.  
  
Not that this did help to calm Duo at all.  
  
The second day after the first appearance of the mark he suddenly felt a strange uneasiness overcome him. He had no appetite, wanted to be left alone and constantly felt a light throbbing pain in the back of his head, almost like a headache but not quite.  
  
To make a long story short: Duo wasn't feeling too well even if it was less of a physical sickness and he had more than enough to do with covering it up.  
  
He didn't want anyone to worry or even know about it until he knew -what- was wrong with him.  
  
All his good intentions of keeping everything a secret were nearly thrown away as Duo woke on the third day and his whole body hurt like Hell. But before he even had a chance to react to the pain, it was already gone again.  
  
And today, the fourth day after the first incident, all five of them were on a mission.  
  
Not very likely that Duo would tell them -now- that he had mysterious signs appearing on him and stuff from time to time the past days. Especially since he hadn't felt like there was anything wrong with him at all that day, and it didn't seem like that was going to change anytime soon.  
  
Then again he never knew when something would happen. Heck, he didn't even know -what- was happening at all and it nearly drove him mad.  
  
- - - - -  
  
The mission went well.  
  
Very well.  
  
Too well.  
  
Actually there hadn't been anything for them to do at all.  
  
They had been able to enter the base without any problems but as soon as they were inside they noticed that something was off. It could be a trap but that possibility didn't feel right either.  
  
There simply wasn't anything or anyone around for the base to be a trap.  
  
In fact it was totally deserted - and it looked like it had been this way for quite some time since everything was covered with a thick layer of dust.  
  
Their original mission had been to take out the base which was supposed to be a production place for Leo-parts, but, from the look of it, the only things that had ever been produced here had absolutely nothing to do with anything concerning the war.  
  
After the Gundam-pilots had checked out the whole building to make sure that really nobody was around, they came together to discuss their further actions.  
  
"What the Hell is this here? We've received wrong information before but this is just fucking ridiculous!" Duo sounded quite upset by the whole situation.  
  
His annoying not-quite-headache had made itself known again a while ago and he felt a little pissed.  
  
"Keep your voice down, Duo," Heero scolded him. "There is still a possibility that this is a trap and you could give our position away by shouting like that."  
  
"The Hell is this a trap, Yuy! Who do you think should attack us? There is fucking no one around to hear me even if I screamed my bloody heart out! But, oh, wait! Did you see that? Oh my God! A dust ball just moved! It is going to try and kill me by giving me a coughing fit! Run for it, guys! Sheesh, I'm leaving."  
  
With this Duo turned around and moved towards the door of the room they were in, leaving his four rather stunned comrades behind.  
  
They were well used to Duo's sarcasm and tendency to exaggerate but this time there had been a slightly hostile edge to his voice that was new to them and that left them somewhat speechless - even if it was just for a short time.  
  
Quatre was the first one to recover. He ran after Duo who had in the meantime left the room and was wandering down the corridor.  
  
"Duo, are you alright?" Quatre's worried voice reached Duo shortly before the boy himself appeared at his side.  
  
From behind he could hear the other three boys following in a less hurried manner.  
  
You could always trust Quatre to worry over you. And leave it to him to -always- find a reason to worry too.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Duo nearly snapped at Quatre, who looked rather surprised by the sudden attack.  
  
Duo instantly felt sorry for his harsh reaction and offered Quatre a weak grin.  
  
"I just want to go home," he explained. "My head hurts and I'm kinda tired too. Okay?"  
  
Quatre nodded and hesitantly accepted this explanation.  
  
- - - - -  
  
TBC  
  
- - - - -  
  
Well... What to say? That's it for now, more to come if you want it that way...  
  
I crave feedback! ^_~  
  
Cya!  
  
- Banshee 


	2. Chapter 02

Finally I got that fifth review I was waiting for. This means you people get an update. ^_^  
  
But I'm still not too sure if I should be happy about getting this last review. It's from a friend of mine and we had a bet running: If she found me on FF.net I'd write her a fic for a birthday present. I thought she would never find me - I was wrong. Now I have to write her a HeeroxDuo lemon... -.-" And yet again, I'm not sure if I should be happy or not... ^_^"  
  
Whatever, on to the next chapter of MR! Here ya go, ppl!  
  
- Banshee  
  
- - - - -  
  
Muddled Realities - Chapter 02  
  
- - - - -  
  
Heero frowned as he followed his four comrades down the corridor.  
  
Duo had been acting strange the last few days, he thought, and a headache and tiredness couldn't be the only reasons.  
  
It first started with Duo isolating himself from the others, shortly followed by restless nights.  
  
Heero's room was right beside Duo's and the walls were anything but soundproof. And Heero was always up late and the first one awake in the mornings so he could hear Duo moving around in his room, and at times the other boy was usually sound asleep while he was doing this.  
  
And then he was suddenly very easy to irritate, bordering on hostile. Just like moments ago.  
  
Adding to all this his lack of appetite when he normally ate huge amounts of food, Heero came to the conclusion that something was going on with Duo and he really didn't like the fact that he had no clue what it was. Duo's health seemed to be fine; it was just his odd behaviour.  
  
Heero's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed Duo, who was leading the way, had suddenly stopped. He turned around and gave everybody a questioning look.  
  
"Did you guys just follow me or did you actually pay attention to where we are going"? Duo wanted to know.  
  
Heero cursed himself inwardly because he realized that he had indeed no idea where they had walked to the past minutes. He had been to caught up in musing about Duo's changed behaviour.  
  
On the outside he remained his stoic self and just pretended to ignore Duo's question - he was definitely not going to admit that Mr. Perfect Soldier hadn't been paying attention to the current mission.  
  
Wufei was the one to answer Duo.  
  
"Why do you ask, Maxwell? We are not lost if that is what you are indicating. You should have paid closer attention as we went inside but I can assure you that we are still on the right way."  
  
"Oh, really? Duo inquired. "Then can you tell me where the Hell this 'right way' of yours went all of a sudden? We never passed a door like this one getting inside and still there it is now."  
  
He pointed at the end of the corridor and everyone's eyes followed his outstretched arm.  
  
He was right.  
  
There was a massive wooden door in front of them. Or rather a massive wooden portal.  
  
No way they would have forgotten something like that if they had seen it before.  
  
Duo was definitely right: They weren't where they thought they were.  
  
"But I'm absolutely sure that we took the right directions everywhere," Wufei insisted.  
  
"For once I have to agree with you, Wuffers, but I think we are still lost."  
  
"My name is 'Wufei'!" came the almost automatic response.  
  
"We can't be lost if we didn't take any wrong turns, now can we?" Quatre mused and earned an agreeing nod from Trowa.  
  
"And all of us are sure that we are supposed to be at the right place but obviously we aren't," Duo sighted.  
  
Heero once again cursed himself for not paying attention before he spoke up.  
  
"There is no use in standing around like that. I see two possibilities: One, to just continue through this door and see where it leads or two, we start blowing holes in the walls until we reach the outside."  
  
This last suggestion left the other four boys staring at him.  
  
Heero shrugged as he started walking towards the door.  
  
"Thought so," he stated.  
  
Behind him he could hear Duo muttering something about certain people having to learn the difference between 'kill' and 'overkill' and what the poor walls ever did to deserve such a threat, making Heero smirk to himself.  
  
- - - -  
  
Heero was the first one to walk through the wooden door, closely followed by the others.  
  
For a few moments all of them just stood there, only a few steps into the room that wasn't really a room.  
  
The ceiling was somewhere far off in unknown heights. The same with the walls bordering the room. All in all there was no way on Earth that this room could somehow fit into -any- building made by human hands.  
  
What they could see from the ceiling and the walls left them with the impression that the whole room was nothing else than a huge bubble.  
  
Everything seemed to be transparent without really letting anyone see through it and every now and then there was a multi-coloured shining reflection running over the surfaces.  
  
In front of them was some object that somehow looked like an igloo but was transparent as well.  
  
Then suddenly a pained gasp caught everyone's attention. Four heads turned around to make out the source of the sound and four boys where greeted with the sight of Duo down on his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around his trembling body, whimpering from time to time.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre cried out and was at the fallen boy's side in no time - the others weren't far behind, trying to find out what was wrong with their comrade.  
  
Duo himself didn't register the other Gundam-pilots even being there at this moment.  
  
He hurt.  
  
Badly.  
  
He clutched his stomach hoping for the pain to vanish.  
  
But it wasn't just his stomach that hurt - his insides felt like someone had poured acid over them and was now stirring them around inside him with a thermal-blade.  
  
Duo felt like he was going to pass out any second from this intense pain.  
  
And suddenly everything was gone.  
  
- - - - -  
  
Duo remembered being in pain just moments ago but he didn't really care anymore.  
  
He remembered -not- passing out like he thought he would but he didn't spend a moment thinking about it.  
  
He remembered too that there had been people with him who were gone now but he couldn't care less.  
  
The very moment he remembered these things they were already forgotten again.  
  
The only thing that mattered to Duo right now was something else he remembered.  
  
He remembered being Shinigami.  
  
And then he screamed.  
  
- - - - -  
  
TBC  
  
- - - - -  
  
My muses live on chocolate and reviews.  
  
Currently they are on a diet and not allowed to eat any chocolate.  
  
You don't want them to starve, do you?  
  
Review, please! ^_~  
  
Ja ne,  
  
- Banshee 


	3. Chapter 03

Lora Helen is still the beta-reader of this story. I'm still the author. And I'm still to lazy for my reader's good... ^_^" Nothing new here, huh?  
  
Well, after this chapter - as short as it is - there is only one chapter left. I had planned a sequel for this right from the start and I guess now is the right time to warn you about that - though I don't know what makes it the right time and if a sequel is worth a warning...  
  
I just realized that my thoughts are semi-incoherent today, so I'll stop the talking and let you go on with the story.  
  
- Banshee  
  
- - - - -  
  
Chapter 03  
  
- - - - -  
  
Everybody stared at the place where Duo had been just a moment ago.  
  
The boy had just disappeared into thin air.  
  
Then a scream could be heard.  
  
"Duo," Quatre whispered wide-eyed.  
  
"That came from there," Heero said turning towards the igloo-like object.  
  
Nothing else had to be said as the four boys started to run in the indicated direction.  
  
It didn't take too long for them to arrive at their destination and the sight left them stunned once again.  
  
In front of them there was a dome of glass protected by an invisible barrier that didn't allow them to get nearer than one meter to the building.  
  
And inside this circle bordered by glass was Duo, looking completely confused.  
  
He was standing in the middle of some strange ornaments on the floor that looked faintly familiar to him and he tried to figure out what was going on.  
  
On Duo's forehead was a cross-shaped blood red mark and on his back there was a pair of huge black wings.  
  
Before anyone of the boys could even try to do anything further a blinding light appeared right beneath Duo and soon took the form of a human.  
  
This left Duo staring in shock.  
  
"Hey, kid! Been a long time, huh?" The newly appeared person greeted him.  
  
"How can you be here? You are dead! I saw you dying, damnit! What is going on here? What's with all this stuff?" flapping his wings Duo demanded of the boy who looked just like Solo, but couldn't possibly be him; Solo had died ages ago...  
  
"Yeah, I'm dead, who cares? I'm still here," The boy shrugged grinning. "Somebody had to do this job and I had nothing better to do anyway. When everything's over I'll go back to being dead again, so calm down, kid."  
  
"Are you telling me that you are Solo, dead and everything?" Duo's voice was nothing more than an unbelieving whisper, barely audible to his four comrades who were still standing outside the circle, unable to do anything since they couldn't get inside.  
  
"Yep, exactly that. And now, listen kid. I guess you noticed all those weird things happening with your body and all..."  
  
"You mean you know what all this is about?! Tell me!" Duo nearly shouted at Solo.  
  
"I'm trying to, just shut up and listen for once, will ya? Well, I kinda got sent here to make sure everything goes like it was planned. Don't ask who planned this stuff - no clue - don't care. Point is: There is actually some sense to your claiming to be the God of Death. He's sleeping inside your body or something, awakening from time to time and killing off some people. It will happen again soon. That's why everything that happens to you happens: The cross on your head is his trademark or something, your headache is caused by him trying to take over your consciousness and the other pain... Well, the wings had to get out. And now you have to kill somebody close to you in order to put Shini-kun back to sleep again."  
  
Solo took a deep breath as he finished rattling off these facts to Duo who had been oddly quiet the whole time. And he stayed like that for some time even now as everybody else was silent as well.  
  
As he finally spoke his voice was slightly trembling as if he feared the answer to his question.  
  
"What happens if I don't... put him to sleep again?"  
  
Solo sighted before answering.  
  
"I guess you don't really have a choice. Once Shinigami has fully awakened he will go for a walk and destroy every single life that crosses his way. Sorry, kid, but I think at least one of those guys there has to die," Solo answered and pointed in the general direction of Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei.  
  
- - - - -  
  
Duo continued to stare at the sword Solo was holding out to him.  
  
"You mean I have to use this?" he finally asked  
  
Solo nodded.  
  
"And I have to kill somebody close to me with it?"  
  
Again a nod.  
  
Duo looked at his four comrades outside the circle of glass. They looked just as confused and cautious about the whole situation as he felt.  
  
There was no way he could kill anyone of them even if it meant that all life on Earth and the colonies would be destroyed. He just couldn't do it. They were his friends.  
  
But then again he guessed that that was the whole purpose of killing someone close to him.  
  
Solo's voice reached Duo and interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Kid, I hate to hurry you but if you wait too long, Shinigami will be up and ready to kill. If that makes it any easier: You don't have to kill all of them - it's enough to kill the one most important to you..."  
  
Duo's head snapped up from where he had been looking at the sword to meet Solo's eyes.  
  
"But I can't kill Heero!" He sounded desperate.  
  
Outside the dome said boy's eyes widened slightly.  
  
- - - - -  
  
Am I getting good at this whole cliff-hanger-thingy or what? ^_^v  
  
You already know that I want reviews from you - don't make me beg! ^_^"  
  
- Banshee 


	4. Chapter 04

Sooo... here it is: The (hopefully) long-awaited fourth and last chapter of 'Muddled Realities'.  
  
After reading one of the threats... errr... reviews I received I shortly thought of rewriting it since *beep* (dun wanna spoil the surprise... ^_^")... but no worries: no harm is done... ^_~  
  
I hope you people like!  
  
- Ban  
  
- - - - -  
  
Muddled Realities - Chapter 04  
  
- - - - -  
  
Heero's thoughts were racing.  
  
Of course Duo couldn't kill him. He was stronger than him and wouldn't let him. But he didn't think that this was what Duo meant.  
  
The boy had to kill someone close to him.  
  
One of them.  
  
Preferably the one who meant the most to him.  
  
And then he said he couldn't kill Heero.  
  
Did this mean...  
  
Heero was a bit confused to say the least.  
  
Why would he be the one that meant the most to Duo? He would have thought of Quatre holding that place but never him.  
  
But it seemed that Duo thought differently about that matter.  
  
Heero's attention was brought back to reality as Solo addressed him directly.  
  
"You are Heero, correct? This means the others can leave now."  
  
Before anyone could react to his words, three of the boys were surrounded by the same blinding light that had accompanied Solo's appearance and just moments later only Duo, Solo and Heero were left in the huge room.  
  
The walls of the dome that kept them apart suddenly disappeared as well and there was nothing left between them to serve as a shield if one of them chose to attack the other.  
  
But it didn't seem as if anyone had that intention.  
  
Heero tried to get at look at Duo's eyes and what he saw there confirmed his suspicion that the other boy was far from willing to kill him or even just attack.  
  
Confusion, uncertainty and a great part was utter stubbornness as if he refused to accept anything that was happening as real.  
  
Heero could understand why he would react like that. If it weren't for the black wings on Duo's back he wouldn't believe one word of the story about Shinigami himself.  
  
But that didn't solve their current problem.  
  
Obviously Duo had no intention of killing Heero and he appreciated this very much but still, something had to be done before Shinigami had the chance to awaken.  
  
"Trying to kill me won't accomplish anything," Heero said, finally breaking the silence between them. "You know you won't succeed because I am stronger than you, and even if I might seem suicidal at times I won't just stand here waiting to die."  
  
Duo flinched at his words but didn't say anything in return. It was Solo who answered Heero.  
  
"You're mistaken, boy. The kid is very much capable of killing you right now. Look at the wings; they are a sign that Shinigami is already partly awake and starting to take over his body. He is a lot stronger than usual," he stated before turning to glare at Duo. "And you, don't even think about committing suicide! You can't be killed in your current state, by anybody, so don't start acting like an idiot."  
  
Duo still remained silent but threw an enormous glare right back at Solo.  
  
Heero was taken aback by what he had just heard. That Duo was stronger than him now and thus his life was possibly in danger didn't faze him one bit, but the thought that Duo would go as far as killing himself in order to safe his life, well...  
  
And there was no mistaking the fact Solo was right with his assumption; the truth could be clearly seen in Duo's reaction.  
  
Then suddenly Duo frowned and his face took a look as if he had made up his mind.  
  
Which he apparently had since he reached for the sword Solo was still holding.  
  
- - - - -  
  
During his training to become a Gundam-pilot Duo had been taught several fighting techniques, including sword fighting. He was no expert at it but it was enough for him to be able to handle the sword he was currently holding.  
  
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he adjusted his grip on the sword one more time and sent a silent prayer to a God he didn't believe in.  
  
Then he opened his eyes again, determination in his gaze as he made a move and felt the sword entering a warm body.  
  
Blood trickled down to the floor from where the sword had cut into the flesh of Duo's best friend.  
  
Heero gasped and his eyes widened. He had never believed that things would turn out like that.  
  
Everything had happened in silence but now Solo's soft voice could be heard.  
  
"It sure took you some time to make up your mind, kid. I was already running out of hints to give to you, but I knew you would choose to do the right thing at the end."  
  
Then Solo turned to Heero and shot him a glare.  
  
"You better take good care of the kid, understood?"  
  
All Heero could do was nod and Solo turned back to Duo to offer him a shaky grin.  
  
"And you, don't you dare and start crying now!" he told Duo as he saw the boy's eyes watering with unshed tears. "I'll see you at the bitter end," he dismissed himself with a wink and then he disappeared into the same bright light that had brought him here, taking the sword that had pierced his heart with him.  
  
- - - - -  
  
As Heero woke he found himself back in the corridor they had discovered the wooden portal in.  
  
Now this door was gone again and everything seemed to be back to normal.  
  
Well, almost everything.  
  
Quatre was all over Heero the moment the boy had opened his eyes, demanding to know if he was alright, telling him to not move to much yet since he had been unconscious for a few minutes and much more, Heero didn't listen to.  
  
His attention was focused on Duo who was lying beside him, seemingly still unconscious.  
  
The wings and the cross on his forehead were gone again it he seemed to be well enough, despite being out cold.  
  
Heero glared Quatre to silence and assured him and the other two boys who were sitting nearby that he was all right and that he would tell them what had happened once they were back at the safe house.  
  
Then he picked Duo up from the floor and headed for the exit.  
  
For now Duo wouldn't be able to answer his questions but he couldn't stay unconscious forever and Heero was determined to find out whatever the 'I can't kill Heero' was about.  
  
Looking down, he noticed that Duo was no longer unconscious but was instead sound asleep.  
  
Heero couldn't help but smile as the boy in his arms snuggled closer and let out a contented sight.  
  
He was going to enjoy their next conversation, he thought as he fought in vain to keep himself from grinning.  
  
- - - - -  
  
End  
  
- - - - -  
  
That's it... ^_^"  
  
I already mentioned a Prequel once but I don't know if I'm gonna write it since I've already started with something new. If you people bug my enough about it, I will write it, though.  
  
I want to thank everybody for reviewing once again and thanks to everybody who will review in the future, too.  
  
Until the beginning of November there will most likely be no updates from me because I have other things to do but I will continue writing during that time and once I have enough free time again I will continue posting/updating things.  
  
Thank you!  
  
Cya,  
  
- Banshee 


End file.
